Marta and Santiago moved to Skövde a year ago to study industrial engineering with a minor in automation. Thanks to the close collaboration between industry and academia in Skövde, they got an opportunity to put their knowledge to test. The two of them carried out a thesis project at Elektroautomatik, an automation integrator founded right here in Skövde. The success of their project led to a summer employment, giving them a chance to connect, explore and enjoy Skövde a little longer.

Originally from different parts of Spain, Marta Migallón Ramíres and Santiago Díaz Fernández de la Torre arrived in Skövde late August last year to study Industrial Engineering with a minor in Automation at the University of Skövde.

"I wanted to experience different cultures. I had heard that the Nordic countries have good welfare and education systems, and I wanted to experience that." - Santiago

Skövde makes life easy

Coming from larger cities, Alicante and Malaga, they explained how Skövde being a smaller town made it easy to get familiar with it quickly. Both highlighted the close proximity to nature as a major benefit.

"For a small city, it still has a lot to offer and a lot of nature. I like the closeness to nature and how green it is, it's not something I'm used to back home." - Marta

Living in Skövde also allowed them to test their independence.

"In Spain, I live with my parents in the middle of town, there are buildings everywhere. In Skövde, I live alone, and I have a park right outside my door." - Santiago

Working with Elektroautomatik

Marta and Santiago first encountered Elektroautomatik during lectures in school. Later the company visited a job fair at the university where students could find projects for their thesis. Although they initially applied for a different project, after interviewing and reviewing their CV’s, Magnus Cedervang, the Software Developer Manager at Elektroautomatik, suggested another one.

Their thesis focused on analyzing and integrating VDA5050, a standardized communication interface for automated guided vehicles (AGVs), to Elektroautomatik’s robots, enabling the usage of a master control. The initial months were spent doing research on VDA5050, later Marta and Santiago slowly started to introduce the program they built, and adapt it to the code already in the robots.

While working on their thesis, Matra and Santiago heard that Elekroautomatik had open summer positions. They spoke to Magnus about it and were offered to stay to continue the implementation.

"VDA5050 is an area we need to explore, so it is in line with our needs. Hosting students is also a basis for future recruitment, and gives us the chance to get to know potential employees. Therefore, extending their time with us was a natural choice." - Magnus

Language – a barrier or an opportunity?

Elektroautomatik operates primarily in Swedish, meanwhile Marta and Santiago speak English. They, along with Magnus, explain that while language has been a challenge it has not been a barrier in the way people might expect. Since the company has an international customer base many of the employees speak English, making communication smooth. The challenge has instead been that most documentation as well as the robot’s interfaces are in Swedish. Marta and Santiago describe that they have been using translation apps, and after a while they started to recognize certain words and phrases they encounter often.

"Besides the fact that English is not Elektroautomatik's main language, Marta and Santiago have been working with very technical details that are new to the industry, which has been a challenge where we have learned together." - Magnus

To be continued…

As Marta and Santiago’s contract comes to an end and they need to go back to Spain to finish the last year of their studies, they got some last-minute good news. Magnus let them know that he was interested in hiring them when they finished their master’s degrees. He told the two of them to reach out if they were interested in coming back and working at Electroautomatik next year.

"This has been a golden opportunity to gain practical experience in the field. It would take something really, really, really good for me not to come back to Skövde and Elektroautomatik." - Santiago

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